, 1887-09-08
JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL S
An interesting Report from
SuPerinteudenI Ryan.

Hon. J. c. Lawrence, TERRI,
ToRIAL SUPT. PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Dear Sir 1t is pleasing to re,
port the schools of Jefferson
county In tlourishing condition
inasmuch as the school system ard
an efficient corps of teachers are
concerned, but Il painful Guty to
chronicle the hard and stubborn
fact, as shown by the statistics,
that about 0ne-half the children OF
school age are not attending school.
And the more observation and
study asp9t6a4~to this ffIattcr the
sooner must we be convinced of
the necessity for 4 very rigid COM
pulsory enactment to be enforced
unCer severe penalties to the officers
charged with the performance of
duties in its execution. Here we
have coed school buildings, good
school teachers, good school Off
GERS with few exceptions) and
the people echo are solicitious in
behalf of the schools are very en-
thusiastic in the cause of education
and eheerfully pay any and all
taxes levied for their support, yet
they are powerless to prevent half
ofthe rising generation, i'll this en-
lightened age, surrounded by all
the facilities for procuring a good
common school education, from
the degrading stigma of illiteracy
with its coneomitant crimes that
go hand in hand with it to the
felon's cell or TO the drunkard's
grave.
We would say to the people, and
especially their representatives. in
the legislature, that although we
have inherited "a land of promise"
and "a land or liberty" we have no
moral right and should have no
liberty to neglect the training of
the youth of this commonwealth
who are to be its future citizens
guardians of that heritage.
There are some features of our
school law which especially fosters
this deplorable stale of fneglect with
The compulsory provisions are
rot stringent enough in themselves
nor as to their own enforcement,
and weak isolated country districts
where the people are generally poor
and the children few, are obliged
to hold three months school in two
years, (0h, what generous COM
pulsion j while pro rata appor-
of the school fund will
not meet the expenses of even that
length of term which amounts to
about no school at all, as no real
Give" well-gualified teacher could
be induced to teach such a term for
the small compensation that could,
of necessity, only be afforded; the
result is that the wealthy who de-
sire and all who can afford the
means, remove with their families
from those weak school districts
to the centers of population to ed
ucate their children, who soon be-
come residents under the law and
thus still further augment the funds
of the strong district and diminish
those of the weak, correspondlngly,
but with greater effect, which vir-
tualIy deprives the children OF
those weak districts of the means
to procure even a very limited ed
in their common schools.
We know that the school system
of our country was based on the
b: DAD principle of universal iedu-
cation for the masses of the people
while here poverty and the law
conspire TO defeat its purpose un-
der the present pro rata per capita
system of apportionment. AS the
former cannot be abolished the lat
ter can certainly be amended so as
to prevent this intellectual starv-
alton. You may ask, ''ean this be
done?" The answer is, it is done
in commonwealth in similar con-
d:tions and "where there is will
there is Il way" Why not make it
compulsory on all school districts
to have at least three months
school in each school year, then
apporIion from the general school
fund stipulated amount to each
district, say enough to pay teach
ers i'll each for three months, such
apportionment to be used for no
other purpose, and afterward APP
portion all the balance pro rata
leaving weak districts to defray
incidental expenses from 4 light
special tax on property. This, or
some similar method, would not
materially affect already strong
districts and would materially
promote the interests of education
Throughout the Territory and sub